FCWInsider

Interior secretary to step down

President Barack Obama talks with Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in this photo from 2011. (White House photo)

Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar has announced he plans to leave his post in March, ending his nearly four-year stint at the agency.

The Denver Post first reported in December that Salazar was expected to make an official announcement about his departure in the coming months. The Associated Press reported Salazar’s resignation on Jan. 16, citing a senior administration official.

Salazar, a former Colorado senator, spearheaded renewable energy efforts at the department and worked to overhaul offshore oil and gas development oversight. Following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Salazar held a key role in implementing a six-month deepwater offshore drilling moratorium.

Salazar becomes the latest top official to leave the administration as Obama’s new term begins. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis have also announced their exits. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack have announced their intent to stay on.